Model Taylor Hill Talks Beauty, Role Models, and Working with Her Siblings

Taylor Hill is a lot like other 21-year-olds from Colorado. She snacks on hot Cheetos; cuddles with her Labradoodle, Tate; and loves a girls’ night out. Then again, she’s a regular at Nobu, Tate has 24,000 Instagram followers (Hill herself has nearly 8 million), and the "girls" are fellow Victoria's Secret Angels Jasmine Tookes and Lais Ribeiro. Hill is sort of like the supermodel next door — which is to say her vibe is as down-to-earth as a pair of hot-pink crystal-studded wings allows. And if you have any doubt about that, just ask her where she stocks up on her beauty products.

On the beginning of a wild ride: "I was discovered on a dude ranch in Granby, Colorado, when I was 14. It was pretty close to where our house was. My mom and I were there for my sisters, who rode Western style, and a photographer was doing a photo shoot. He thought we were the models."

On the best find since Two Buck Chuck: "I use coconut oil on my face and on my body as lotion. I keep it pretty simple and don’t like testing a lot of products because I have sensitive skin. I probably should experiment more, but it’s done a good job. I usually get the organic one from Trader Joe's — it's like five bucks."

On an eye-opening beauty trick: "I've seen makeup artists heating up an eyelash curler with a blow-dryer. They test it on their hand to make sure it's not too hot, and then they curl your lashes with it. It makes them stay up for a longer period of time."'

On peculiar sensations: "For the VS show, they do these oxygen facials for the girls the day before. It's really strange. There's this little tube thing that presses into your skin, and it kind of feels like a suction. I can't even explain it. It was so weird. I had never experienced anything like that, but it makes you feel so fresh. So that was pretty cool."

On her worst haircut: "The craziest stuff always happens at fashion shows, because there's such a short amount of time to get everything ready. I was 15, in Milan, and my hair was really long, and I also had extensions almost all the way down my back. They were cutting the extensions shorter, and I got a whole, thick chunk of my real hair cut out of the back, much shorter than the rest. I looked on the ground and saw all my hair lying on the floor, and I was like, 'Oh, my God.'"

On her off-duty hair-care routine: "When I'm not working, I usually wear my hair in a bun. I've also tried the L'Oréal hair masks. When I have time, I'll take a bath and let the mask soak and then rinse it out after 10 minutes. I'll do that once a month. Other than that, I just get frequent haircuts from my mom."

On the importance of being a fast learner: "My mother used to work in a salon, but she had four kids and didn't have time, so now she just cuts all of our hair and our dad's. She taught me how to do a French braid and a crown braid. The quicker you get at it, the easier it is, so you have to learn to be fast."

On occupational hazards: "I usually wash my face in the shower at night with Énergie de Vie The Foam Cleanser from Lancôme [Hill is an ambassador for Lancôme]. It became my favorite because it smells so good, and I found that it actually helped clear up my makeup acne.”

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On training like an Angel: "My personal trainer, Lauren Duhamel, does resistance bands and floor Pilates, all these controlled movements that are crazy difficult. For the VS show, I'll work out with her five times a week, twice a day, like 40 minutes of legs and butt in the morning and 30 minutes of core at night."

On maintaining a balanced diet while working: "I drink protein shakes, eat a lot of chicken, and try to make more home-cooked meals. It's really hard in New York because everything is so small. My kitchen is tiny, but it's nice because it forces me to learn something new every day and not cook the same things over and over. Snack-wise, I like dark chocolate just because it's something sweet and it makes me feel like I'm eating what I want."

On eye contact: "I met Gisele Bündchen once, and it was the happiest five minutes of my entire life. She was looking me in the eye, smiling, asking me questions. She was very present in that conversation with me. Every story you hear about these women is incredible. They come to work; they're professional; they say thank you to everybody when they leave. I think that's a big deal."

On her favorite photoshoot: "Recently, my siblings [Ed note: her brother and sister are also models] and I were shot by Bruce Weber. We shot at his house in Aventura which is right outside Miami. It was really beautiful. I think out of everything that was one of the coolest, just because we've never worked together before."

On her All-American beauty icon: "Cindy Crawford, Christy Brinkley, and Christy Turlington because I think they're amazing women and role models. It's just different kind of beauty, and as you get older in life, you have to learn new things, and I think having people like them who just seem like really well-grounded and humble people is really cool to learn about them and, in a sense, look up to them."